Once Upon A Time
by sweeety
Summary: The more things change, the more things change the same. Alternate universe, Familiar faces. The stories may change but the people don't. Find out what happens to our heroes. Will true love overcome all obstacles or is this story firmly rooted in reality? Fantasy AU, Paily, Spoby, F/F, M/F, T for dark subject matter, no intention of turning that into an M though.


Prologue

"Can you tell me the story again mama?"

"Go to sleep little one"

"Please!~"

"It's late!"

"But it helps me have nice dreams, momma!"  
"Oh, all-right. Once upon a time there lived a beautiful little princes named Emily-"  
"Just like you!"

"Just like me! This princess was kind and just and clever and the fairest in the land. Princess and princesses from across the river would come ask for her hand in marriage but princess Emily would not agree to marry anyone"

"Because she was stubborn!"  
"No, you cheeky monkey, because she wasn't in love! She wasn't in love with any of those suitors so she refused to marry them. Her mother and father were growing impatient. Her mother really wanted a granddaughter or a grandson to fill the house with laughter and her father wanted a son or daughter in law to protect and support her when he was not around. They were both afraid their daughter would end up dying alone and it was through that fear that the trickster god bamboozled them."

"Alison!"

"yes baby, Alison. She made a deal with the voodoo priestess Mona. She needed her help in usurping the kingdom. She promised her riches in return. Riches beyond her wildest dreams in exchange for some powers. She put her soul up as collateral."  
"GASP!"

"You don't have to say 'gasp', I can just hear you gasping"  
"It's for the audience listening at home"  
"We're not being recorded!"

"...oh yeah... Carry on."  
"Right. With her demonic powers, Alison managed to steal the face of the Queen Marion. Marion Cavanaugh was a simple farm-woman in her youth and had developed a strong constitution. Therefore it was quite odd for her to fall ill. The new healer in town however, Alison, had managed to fix her up quick and easy. However she had to use some unorthodox techniques and as such, she made no promises that the woman that would return to the world from the brink of death would be the same as the woman they knew before. And sure enough, the Queen had changed so much in such a short time. Her son was quite perturbed by the way she watched him. Almost like she felt LUST towards him. One day she cornered him in his room and had the guards not interrupted he could've sworn she would have kissed him!"  
"YUCK!"  
"I know! Disgusting!"

"He should've eaten some garlic, that's what I'd do."  
"I'm sure he regrets not thinking of that sooner. He was confused. So perturbed in fact he sought out the healer to ask her some questions about his mother's transformation, however when he tracked down her shop, all he found was a workbench and some poultices. There was nothing of note but a horrid smell wafting in from the basement. He opened the door, stepped down the stairs and what he saw down there made him puke"

"WHAT DID HE SEE? WHAT DID HE SEE?"  
"Down there, in a pile on the floor, lay the body of his mother, piled on top of the body of the guard who had first suggested to his father that he hire the 'healer' Alison."

"By the gods!"

"It was so upsetting. What was worse however was the he was not alone in the room. The voodoo priestess let Alison take some of her messenger rats so she could alert her when her prize was ready and one such messenger rat had been left behind to guard the bodies. When the messenger rat, Lucas, saw the boy enter the room, he ran straight through the crack in the wall and to the castle where Alison was play-pretending to be Queen. Alison couldn't kill Prince Tobias. She needed him for her plan so she considered turning him into a rat for now but found the thought of that truly disgusting and counter-intuitive to her plans so she merely brewed him a sleeping potion and disguised it as water. When the boy ran home to his father, his servant offered him a drink and the fool took it. His eyes wide open, he realized his folly far too late. He felt his throat closing in and his chest burning from lack of air. His vision blurred as his feet gave way and the last thing he remembered seeing was the face off his own mother smirking down at him.

When he woke up, he couldn't remember what he had been about to say. The prince was considered foolish and weakly and sick and as such, maidens and princesses from around the world rushed to court him, figuring they could get to rule. Alison as the queen invited the healer that healed his life to the ball and that was where she met the Princesses Spencer and Emily. Prince Tobias had become fast friends with the latter, so to lower her chances of being picked, Alison had led princess Emily on and almost let her kiss her in the library. Princess Spencer had caught them just in time and had scolded the healer for trying to approach a princess. She'd gone to have stern words with Prince Tobias for letting help intermingle with his guests but when she saw his sullen face she felt intrigued. She fell in love with him and he with her. They talked for hours on the balcony overlooking the gardens, halfway between the park and the party."

"Aww"

"Yes, it was adorable. Spencer had only attended the party in order to see what books their fabled library did hold. That's how she found Princess Emily among the stacks, healer Alison touching her inappropriately. Spencer had grown up in a neighboring kingdom and while this scandal would have been advantageous to her, she felt for the other girl and wanted to protect her. Emily, Spencer, Aria and Hanna had grown up in allied, neighboring kingdoms. They'd been friends since they were babes, suckling on their wetnurses teats. The other girls were a permanent fixture at her castle. Her older sister Melissa found them insufferable, but secretly she adored them and doted on them, happy that her sister had someone to look out for her, and didn't have to grow up with the pressure that she had to grow up with. When she closed her eyes she could still hear the pitter patter of their tiny feet as they ran through the castle, knocking into guards and pilfering sweet rolls from the kitchen. One time she found them hiding in suits of armor. She wouldn't have noticed them if Hanna hadn't snagged her coattail on the suit. Everytime she recalled that memory she grinned like an absolute fool. She had missed the ball, having no need to marry into Queendom as she had been the oldest of her family. Had she been there she would've seen the way Alison took note of her sister."

"Oh no"

"Oh yes. She did not like her one bit. She devised some wicked plan to have her cake and eat it too. That night she stole the form of the princess and approached Prince Tobias in his quarters, intending to seduce him. She'd failed of course, as the prince was a pious man who would wait 'till marriage. The healer had to keep Spencer alive so she sent Lucas the mouse to watch over her in her room. She would have to marry the prince first, and then impregnate herself with his baby, before killing his father and him, and becoming Queen regent. But until they were all dead she had to keep Spencer alive so that she could retain her image. As long as she was alive she could take notice of her mannerisms so she locked away the real Spencer in the newly constructed 'Wizard's Tower' and she shape-shifted Lucas into a human so he could look after her. Little did she know however that the bond between the girls was stronger than any spell and no amount of fibbing could get through to them. The girls, went on a witch hunt for Spencer. And what better place to look for magic than a wizard's tower? The girls had their friend back with them within a day and the impostor Spencer imprisoned with her ratboy, Lucas."

"Yeah!"

"Happily ever after! Or so it seemed. That was only the start of their story, but it's late now and you have a big day ahead of you, so go to sleep now darling and I'll finish the story later."


End file.
